But I Digress
by Dancing Feather
Summary: An AU of multiple failing revenges. Not that Tamaki didn't fail at most things anyway, but Haruhi will make a man out of you.
1. eins

Inspired by (1956) The King and I, (2005) The King and the Clown and (1956) The Court Jester. If you haven't read the manga (or watched any of these movies), you may not catch some references and jokes. But if I wrote this right, it shouldn't matter.

For those new to my writing, if you see a misspelling/grammatical error/OOC-ness/bad story telling please tell me asap. If no one says anything I'm going to assume everything is perfect or no one is reading this.

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**1 O'clock Curtain**

Welcome to the thick and rich lands of the Ootori. Their lands spread open and far, even possessing some minor mountain regions. Thick forests, wide farmlands, rocky rocks. Despite the fact the royal family was quite obviously Japanese, they lived in a western castle. Stones walls, stone floors and wooden banisters. They were not an artistic family, so all of the royal houses only had the basics. No major theme changed in any of the estates aside from their royal crest and colours. A bare wall may have a tapestry or a warming (and concealing) curtain, or for real practicality a torch for light (electricity was a rarity in these days and was seen only as dangerous forbidden magic). Most of the money went to staff, defensive walls, and law enforcement directed by the Haninozuka.

I dare you to conquer that shit.

The King was cursed with an unhappy wife. I will leave the reasons why for now up to your imagination. But when she left him (after their heated court date) she took the King's distant summer home and left her three sons and one daughter to the King. The King then blessed his lawyer for having awesome lawyer-ing skills. The daughter would be married to a price from another kingdom of his choosing. To gain more power and to loosen bitter ends with the rival company- I mean, rival kingdom.

His two eldest sons were great treasures in themselves. Doing everything they were asked without question and skillfully. At times it seemed almost pointless to have meetings with them, as they would always echo in agreement. They were like clones of himself. He was so pleased with this, he saw no need to attend to his youngest son who's distant personality made the King feel it would be a waste of time to work with.

Besides, he had everything else under control. It was all planed out when it was time for the King to retire (or worse). If they didn't kill each other the eldest son would get the East Kingdom, the other would possess the West Kingdom (see, they were so unoriginal they couldn't be bothered to give fancy names to their important sectors).

Unfortunately, since the Queen left him with one son too many the King had to plan what would happen to the third son. After all, he couldn't split his kingdom into thirds! It just wasn't an even number! There were too many added math/power problems because of it!

It also didn't help that the King was a manipulative asshole, which is why his wife left him. And why the first two brothers were boring as hell, and the last prince was left with avoiding the occasional assassination attempts. The King wouldn't even grace him with his own presence. Their conversations came second hand from servants' mouth and letters written by servants (early cellphones and email, if you will).

His sister and close servants have tried softening the blows. Offering gifts claimed to be directly from the king himself; things from small trinkets to fine steeds, but the prince knew better. But he accepted them just the same. After all, it is not their fault. Everyone would be left to scratch their heads, it was hard to fool a child who seemed to know everything.

But his closest servants, Hotto, Tachibana and Aijima knew if things continued on this course, the shadows were only to get darker. They watched the boy grow up, accompanied him at every class and meeting. They saw the potential he had, if only his father would would give him a chance. The King wouldn't, and with a child this smart, bored and oppressed the three servants knew they were witnessing the calm before the storm.

"_Do you not think, Tachibana, that my father and my brothers have had their fun?"_

The first two brothers had quite a lot of nicknames. It comes with the going to be king thing. The youngest brother had only one. Which was fine, it fit him quite nicely in an unfortunate way.

The downfall of a great kingdom was being planned.

One could argue a kingdom with suffering civilians was not great, but what else could one label a kingdom that had such a powerful hold of the land? Hotto, Tachibana and Aijima agreed that the rule was harsh, but they feared that their removal will be even more catastrophic. They and the mistress did not want to see the young prince to echo in his father's footsteps. But who was to say? What could be done? The boy never showed much emotion.

Surely there was someone out there to match his wits, someone who could show him the brighter side. They knew with the right lighting, even a shadow can smile.

The prince had snuck into the prisons to meet a girl who was to die. A foolish peasant who spoke up against the king and his unfair laws caused the death of her mother. He gave her and glance and said nothing. She watched back, her eyes strong with loathing.

"_Can you feel anything, Shadow Prince?"_

He told himself that he didn't care. A sentence that was repeated more than he cared to count. The downfall of a great kingdom was being planned, and she was the key. Unfortunately for the shadow prince, he would be putting the wrong key in the lock.

"_What are you doing?" The girl's eyes softened as she watched the boy struggle with the iron door._

"_Hush you foolish peasant, what does it look like I'm doing?" He hissed as he continued to try to twist the key in the lock._

But be quiet, he hasn't figured that out yet.


	2. deux

**To HHxHF4ever:** I know some people dismiss errors as a way of being polite, but my English wouldn't be as readable as it is now if no one corrected me. What if I made the same errors again? If you aren't going to correct me, please do not tell me there are mistakes. That way I spend more time working on the plot than looking for errors. Thank you BeautifulXinXBlood for correcting me!

* * *

**2 Jesters and a Minstrel**

They say it was more common to curse the Hitachiin name then it was to call up your favorite savior in times of agony. You see, the Hitachiin family are an infamous group of thieving rouges. Their dark history started as a group of homeless Celts who killed for anything. You read that right, Japanese Celts were chased from their lands because the Japanese Franks didn't feel like sharing. If anyone remembers their history, when the Japanese Franks reach a certain level they evolve into Japanese French, so no one was really surprised.

Once the Hitachiin realized they were so good at stealing with word craft and disguises they stopped pointlessly stabbing people. In fact, they got so good at stealing they could easily afford the best housing as well as steal it (Stealing still preferred). Their egos grew so great that they started establishing rules to challenge themselves (like stabbing is cheap). They say the only way to identify one was by their slick body build and red hair. One could also say that's prejudice, but this is over five hundred years ago and no one could give a damn about your hurt feelings.

With a family this crazy, it makes one wonder why the kingdom of the Ootori hasn't been stolen twice. Well, the reason why dear reader is because several years before the Shadow Prince was born, a sheriff from unknown lands had decided to face the Hitachiin himself. Apparently were he was from, their actions were unacceptable.

Since the Hitachiin were playful as well as crafty nothing went as planned. Fortunately he had brains on his side and the worst thing that happened was that he and the heir of the thief family had fallen in love. In order for there to be some sort of peace, they came to an agreement: If he could not show them the proper way to make a living in this day and age he would become a thief instead. The Queen of Thieves laughed, habits die hard when you became rich by stealing. That, and the family's reputation was so shot it was impossible to find a job whilst having the last name Hitachiin.

Then the man introduced the Queen of Thieves into the world of theater and fashion design.

That shut her up.

And since the heir of the Hitachiin family was a woman, children happened. They had two sons, both of them twins. It was a question if they were a blessing or a curse to the family. Born in the midst of a great change of lifestyle for the family, one could stay the twins felt misplaced. Father would say one thing,

"_Stealing is wrong."_

Mother something completely different,

"_Don't be stupid, wait until no one is looking!"_

Not to say that the twins did not love their family, but they didn't help their twisting psych. You see, they were monoamniotic twins (Not that people living five hundred plus years ago would know what monamniotic meant). Twins were rare enough as it was, but to have two look so identical left not just outsiders confused, but the servants and family members themselves.

As much as the Hitachiin did not care to rule anything further than their property, but they also did not like being told what to do. Because of this, map makers had to make sketchy guesses. Whatever was not claimed in the western lands of the Suoh or by the eastern kingdom of the Ootori was Hitachiin. They didn't bother much with upkeep, it was only thanks to the twin's father and friendly commoners did foreigners know what the laws of the land were. Which was all fine and dandy until egos from the east started bleeding into their territory.

The Hitachiin may not post road and territory signs, but as thieves you can imagine how miffed they would be if someone stole their rightfully stolen stuff. Especially since they promised to stop blatantly stealing. Not having anything remotely resembling an army, the Hitachiin had to ask help from the kingdom of the west. The kingdom of Suoh was powerful because their army was directed by the Morinozukas, but they kept mostly to themselves. So much so that only people who lived in the deeper parts of their land had any idea what was going on politically.

The twin's father and his wife tried multiple times to convince the Queen to confront the Ootori. But as they were to find out, the old Queen didn't gave a damn. Being an honest man (and trying to prevent his new family from returning to the shadows of crazy), he kept trying just the same. His sons however, were getting sick and tired (read: really really bored) of all of this political business. None of it was getting anywhere. So they did a little research. That's where they learned that the Suoh family wasn't as heir-less as they first appeared.

For some reason, the prince was not at the royal main house but in a far off lord's estate. Yes, he was illegitimate, but it didn't seem like the Queen's son was having any luck with the woman he was married to. The twins wondered why they couldn't have pretended the child was a pure blue blood. It wasn't until the twins finally found him they saw why.

It would be very hard to explain where all of that blond and purple eyes came from.

Shaking their heads to remove the shock, they set up plan A: Kidnap Prince Suoh Tamaki and send a ransom note to the Queen 'signed' by the Ootori. Danger to the next heir was always a guaranteed war, they've read their history even if the readers hadn't. All the same, they decided to play it safe and not confront him until he had left the estate.

Slightly frustrated after arguing with his caretaker, the Prince had decided to go on a little stroll to talk to his woodland friends. Just as he closed the yard gates behind him however, he was confronted by two lanky boys, seemingly his age.

"May I help you?" Tamaki blinked repeatedly. The boys in front of him were wearing identical clothing, giving the appearance, and feeling as if he were seeing double. The twins sneered at his reaction before bowing low before him.

"We have been searching-" the left one began.

"Searching a long time." The right added before the left took over again causing Tamaki's head to turn back and forth as if he were watching a ping pong game.

"We have come-"

"...to take you on an adventure-"

"...it will be long and hard-"

"...as adventures are-"

"...but if you pass all of your trials-"

"...if you have shown your worth-"

"...you will have proven to the Queen-"

"...that you can rule a country-"

"As Prince Tamaki." They both finished with another bow. They played up their warm and welcoming faces to the speechless blond. Well, he was speechless for about half a minute.

"I'm a- I'm a what?"

"You don't know?" The right one bit out before the left could stop him. "A prince. You know, someone born from royalty?"

"I know that! But that means- that means I'm a prince?" Tamaki nearly squealed before cramming his hands up to face to quieten himself. The twins frowned, upset at forgetting that plan A never works. Before they could correct themselves however, Tamaki removed the finger cage from his mouth, making a high pitched shriek that vaguely resembled laughter.

"I always knew God had something in store for me!" He paused to give a twirl. "With good looks like these, who could believe I was just some lord?" It took the twins a moment before they realized the bastard legs weren't broken, but he was dancing. "A prince! A prince!" The twins exchanged looks (warning, you may read that line a lot) before coming to the same conclusion:

_He's an idiot!_

"Um, Prince Tamaki?" The left one pipped up while giving a reassuring pat to his brother's back. "You must pass several tests before we can be sure you are fit to be prince-"

"Yes! Yes! Understandable!"

"No one must know you are a prince."

"But why?" The twins narrowed their eyes as they noticed Tamaki's eyes beginning to tear up. "I just learnt it myself!"

"Part of the trial." The right one bit out. "Do you want to do this or not?"

"Can you sing?" The left one said calmly. Tamaki decided he had to be the nicer one.

"Oh yes! My favorite song to sing is-"

"Great." Okay, not too much nicer. "Can you play an instrument?"

"I play piano-" He flinched as one of the twins shoved a large hollow wooden thing into his hands.

"Well now you play the banjo." The twins demanded..

"Oh." Tamaki responded, looking at his fated instrument sadly. "Why?"

"For your trials, you must go undercover." The right one pointed.

"No one must know who you are." The left one nodded.

"But no one knows I'm a prince!"

"No one can know you are Suoh Tamaki either."

"Why not?"

"It's a secret!"

"They let you keep your last name, why didn't you think you were related?"

"Coincidence?" Tamaki shrugged. The twins then performed a face palm, it was very good.

After getting over the fact of how dense of a prince they had on hand, the twins reassured themselves things were going to go smoothly. _No wonder the Queen has him way out here near our border. He's a headache to talk to._

They snuck around to pack his things and take whatever pretty little trinkets they thought may help pay for their travels east. Against Tamaki's wishes they packed light. Against their wishes they packed some weird old teddy bear.

"I can't sleep without him." Tamaki assured them. Thinking back now, it wasn't the worst thing he made the twins do. "I don't want to carry this!" The blond wailed not long after they walked onto a forgotten old dirt road. "My back won't take it!" He gasped as his knees hit the dirt. The twins couldn't say for sure, but it was as if a light from the heavens shinned directly above the prince to emphasize his distress. "Can't we get a donkey or a horse to carry this stuff?" He sobbed to the earth.

"It's part of the trial." They rolled their eyes. "You have to carry your stuff." Actually, they wanted to say it was common courtesy to carry your own shit, but they wanted to make this war begin as smoothly as possible.

"No! I refuse!" A strange gleam entered Tamaki's eyes making the twins step back. "I'm the prince and you should obey me!" As he stood up, he gracefully swung his backpack off and to the twins feet.

"What the hell-" The right one hissed before the left one squeezed his shoulder and shook his head.

"Just let it go for now. We're almost to Munich."

"Fine." The right one growled as he lifted Tamaki's bag. "But he has to carry his damn bear!" He slammed the brown toy to the road.

"Kuma, noooo!" Tamaki cried as he hugged the worn object tightly. "Don't worry, I'll protect you!"

Thankfully, yet somewhat unbelievably they managed to walk the rest of the day without much talk from the prince. It wasn't until the twins were setting up camp did Tamaki let out a sound that resembled a mouse about to be crushed.

"Oh!"

"What?" The twins echoed, turning around with shared annoyed looks.

"In all of this excitement I forgot to ask for your names!" He waved his arms to emphasize, not unlike an Italian.

"It doesn't matter." The left one sighed.

"You'll never remember which one of us is who." The right shrugged with his twin but Tamaki only smiled.

"This is one of the tests right? You can't fool me! What are your names?"

"He's Hikaru." The left one pointed.

"And he's Kaoru." The right one pointed back.

"Hikaru and Kaoru." Tamaki nodded. "Got it."

"No, you don't." They said as if completely convinced. After all, not even their own family, a group of people once disguise specialist couldn't even tell them apart. Even Kaoru didn't know if he was originally Kaoru and if Hikaru was even Hikaru. One day, they had decided to label themselves who was who because at least someone had to know. They weren't sure if it was a curse or a blessing, but they would take as much advantage as they could, no matter how much it hurt.

They would camp in the forest and steal rides and borrow wagons tomorrow. Whatever it took to get them faster into the eastern lands. Unfortunately for the twins, personality disorder was the least of their problems. Their plan had many flaws that they could conceivably be improved for solutions the whole way through, but the one thing they did not plan for was if the Suoh Queen cared in the first place.

"_When will the Ootori realize when we are not interested in business?" The Queen tossed the unopened letter back at her servant. "Burn this at once."_

"_Yes, m-my Queen..."_

Well, damn.


	3. drei

**3 Centimeters In**

Haruhi hated rich people. Every problem that she could think of that was wrong with the world was caused by people with money. They own so many nice things and yet never seem to appreciate what they had and they always want **more**. If problems arrived but didn't directly affect them, even if it happened to the place they lived in, they wouldn't lift a finger even though they could easily afford at least _someone_ to help out.

Despite this, Haruhi didn't see herself as a rebellious girl. She never attempted to steal from rich people, or hurt them in any way. Her father had a job as a barkeeper, and since her village was full of drunks the job was stable. Unfortunately for her father, Haruhi wasn't interested in any of that. She had a big goal, and to get anywhere near that goal she couldn't stay in the small village were everyone drank until they passed out.

Haruhi's original plan was to leave her small town village for the Ootori's city capital. She wanted to get into a legitimate school with libraries. She wanted more than the simple math and short mythos, a real education. She knew while some people were born rich and others weren't it didn't mean you were stuck like that forever. Haruhi didn't feel fated to stay as a bartender. She wanted to do more, like her mother.

Haruhi's mother died when she was really young. Leaving behind only memories of a perfect parent who did no wrong. Her father, Ryoji, would tell her stories about her mother and her impact on the world always with a smile and sad eyes. He talked about how her mother fought for rights for women, slaves, and her beliefs against her country's form of government. To sum it up, she was a very modern woman. Bluntly put she was too modern, and was promptly died before she could alter history.

Haruhi still thought it was a fabulous idea to become like her mother. No matter what Ryoji said didn't seem to change her mind, so he resorted to doing stuff instead. Taking her saved money and spending it for a nice dress for him or herself, forbidding customers from giving tips, but Haruhi would outsmart him in that too. So like any good sportsman, Ryoji decided to give up. But only after he tried one last thing:

"_Sweetheart, listen to me. This is important."_

"_Will this be more lifesaving advice dad? I told you the city has better zombie protection than we do."_

"_I know that. But I think it's time I explain why I am against this." Ryoji sighed as his daughter frowned._

"_Well, that would be a nice change." Haruhi placed the dirty cleaning rag on the counter. "Why won't you let me go? Most heroins get to go on their adventures of self discovery when they are thirteen or so."_

"_I know, I know..." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But if you do this..." he bit his lower lip wishing he knew a better way to explain to his daughter, "you'll end up like your mother." Haruhi's frown vanished and her voice softened._

"_W-what?"_

It sounds like a low blow, but Ryoji did not tell his daughter the truth about her mother because, well, the woman's dead. Haruhi would never get the chance to know her mother as well as he did, and he wanted Haruhi's memory of her mom to be special. Someone to aspire and look up to without ever having the chance to disappoint Haruhi like he has. After all, perfect people stay perfect because they didn't live long enough to make a mistake.

But to have his daughter aspire to be so much like her mother that she wanted to follow in her footsteps? The truth had to be told!

So Haruhi was told how her mother died not because of petty criminals, but was ordered to death by the Ootori family themselves. Her mother also seemed to have had a strong distaste for the ruling government, calling the rule unjust and unfair. Coincidentally, the government felt the same way about her and had her slain before she could get enough followers for a chance of a riot.

After being told such startling information, Haruhi decided she would have to rewrite her plans... well, sort of. Her goal was still the same but her path has gone in a whole different direction then was previously planned. She hated the rich before, but now the morbid feelings in her mind ran a bit sharper.

"_I thought now you were old enough to know! No! Haruhi, revenge isn't the way!"_

She definitely didn't see herself planing the downfall of the Ootori empire. But if that was the price to see justice in her country, then she would see it done. No matter the difficulty. Even if it meant getting arrested her first week at the capital. Lying about her age, the guards didn't take her up rise seriously. She was told a few days in jail would set a little _boy_ straight on who was in charge. Haruhi took it in stride and saw it as a chance to plan things in quiet.

But a real boy came into the dungeon. He was dressed very nicely with no speck of dirt upon him. Haruhi safely assumed he was rich and so started to hate him. When he walked up to her cage letting her observe the Ootori royal crest that held his cape her fists instinctively clenched, tightened...

"What is your name, foolish one?" His voice was monotone. She couldn't see his eyes through his glasses. He might as well have been a blank slate if it weren't for the recognizable Ootori crest. Already off on a bad start, Haruhi stayed silent. This didn't seem to bother the other teen one bit as he continued to ask questions.

"Where did you come from?"

_None of your damn business, _Was the first of many harsh answers that popped in Haruhi's mind.

"Why disguise yourself as a boy?"

_Like I can afford to disguise myself-_

"What is your purpose?"

_To seek the Holy Grail._

"Are the other forms of suicide too boring for you that you had to pick a fight with my father?"

Now that she could not stay silent to. Rising suddenly from the back corner of her cell, she had the silent pleasure of watching the boy jump back as she grabbed and squeezed the old, rusty bars. "Can you feel anything, Shadow Prince?" She tried to keep her voice firm and quiet. Yelling would certainly be counterproductive in this situation and so kept her voice to a low, shaky tone.

"Does it matter?" The monotone returned, it had seemed he had recovered swiftly from his shock.

"Of course it does." _What's wrong with you?_ "You're alive aren't you?" _Why do you not have that disgusting smile like the rest of your kind?_

"That is also a good question." He nodded, as if he had never thought of it before.

_He is mocking me. _Haruhi began to grit her teeth. _Damn him..._

"You are quite calm for someone on death row."

"What are you talking about?" A few days in jail may cause malnutrition and possible disease, but never death. Unless-

"Let me guess, they said they would let you go after you stayed a night or two in less than pleasant conditions?"

Silence.

"I'll have you know, the Ootori Empire is known only for it's fairness, loyalty, greatness... on the inside. When you leave the lands you hear different stories. Ones very different but twisted just the same." The teen pulled a small object from a pocket and inserted it into Haruhi's lock.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes widened she watched the boy struggle with the iron door.

"Hush you foolish peasant, what does it look like I'm doing?" He hissed as he continued to try to twist the key in the lock. But it did no good. One or the other was too old to preform it's function anymore.

_Is he mocking me?_

A bark above the stair well startled the both of them.

"Be quite down there! I'll have you know, boy, that you are here in jail and not hanging by the neck because of the kindness of the Ootori!" Haruhi gritted her teeth. Resisting the urge to correct the man of her real gender, she realized the boy was gone. As if he was never there.

_Are you mocking me?_

Days were passing without the basic comforts of food or water. In Haruhi's steadily growing panic and food depression, she thought about what the boy said. Death row? But she just got here! She hadn't even a chance to inspire others to her cause, or even an apprentice! She promised dad nothing horrible would happen to her!

She was originally trembling from the cold, but now fear and hunger fueled it stronger. She tried to conserve her energy staying huddled in the warmest corner, but she found herself pacing instead.

_I'm going crazy. I'm going to go crazy._

It was only when she heard the metal clink of the key turning the lock did her mind snap back to place. Her eyes well adjusted to the dark now, could see a cloaked figure who's face was concealed behind black cloth.

_No... this isn't the end. No... it's not the end!_

Refusing to go down without a fight, Haruhi threw herself at the man and was shocked that even in her weaken form the both of them came crashing down in seconds. Not wanting carelessness to be her downfall, she grabbed the first weapon available. Which were the old, rusty chained keys that freed her. Grasping the one most sharp looking she held it against her victim's throat. Sure, it it wasn't a knife. It wouldn't cut clean. But the fact that the cut made from such a dirty object guaranteed a painful, long lasting suffering. Especially during a time when antibiotics were as hard to find as equal rights.

Just as she began pressing the dangerous object down on the enemy's throat, a voice no louder than a whisper came from behind the cloth-

"I promise you, killing me will not further you in your goal." That voice, still monotone, was that boy again. He noted that as the girl's eyes narrowed, but the same harshness they held behind the bars before was not there anymore.

Despite the monotone both knew the girl could feel his rushing heartbeat from being thrown to the floor. The prince had no idea how he was going to explain the growing large bruise growing on his back against the cold stone floor to his servants. The girl was shaking from hunger as well as excitement, but her grip on her weapon and his shoulder was strong. She used what little weight she had and pinned him down with it. Aren't women suppose to be soft and sweet? Like his sister?

_Curious. Quite curious..._

"Then explain your reasoning." She hissed, removing her left hand from his shoulder for a brief second as she peeled the wrapped black cloth from his head. "Death by rusty key is not pleasant, I assure you."

"You've experienced this for yourself?" He blinked, glasses askew. With his inability to adjust them, for the first time Haruhi could see nervousness and curiosity crease his face. It was an odd look on the boy, as if even his own face muscles were unaccustomed themselves.

"Neither you nor I have time to play with words." Haruhi's one free hand pressed down harder on the boy's shoulder, grinding it into the rough, broken floor. "Give me facts."

"If you kill me, you will be doing exactly what my father has planned."

A moment of silence passed over as Haruhi's large eyes stared into Kyoya's, making the boy wonder if this girl was actually Asian. "Explain." The serious tone still held, but the menacing feel her voice had before seemed to be gone. Just like the eyes.

"I am a heir to nothing. An extra. Killing me will not extract the emotions you wish to fester in my father." He sighed, muscles relaxed has he fought the mental urge to fix his glasses. "Instead I would be used to a political advantage. He will use my death as a soapbox, showing the kingdom how his poor son had felt sympathy for a boy in the rebellion and was rewarded a horrendous death. All the sympathy you have painstakingly gained working with the peasants would be gone in a blink."

Such a paragraph left Haruhi speechless. While she did consider the rich unsympathetic and heartless, she had a hard time comprehending that they would be as cruel to their children as they were to their subordinates. The boy's heart rate seemed to calm down, as if he were fine to be in this predicament.

_What sort of parent are you if you don't care if your child lives or dies?_

"So," The boy below decided to break the silence, "I propose a different strategy." Snapping Haruhi from her train of thought, she looked back down with a raised eyebrow.

"Really." As he noticed Haruhi's grip on the key loosening, he felt his confidence replacing the doubt.

"You will be released as ordered three days from now, going where ever peasants go and never be heard of again." The boy held back a gasp as Haruhi pressed her weight back into his left shoulder. "Or at least," He groaned from the pain. "that is what records will say."

"What will the records not say?" Haruhi found herself pulling back, if just a bit for his sake.

"The records... the records will also say a strange boy from nowhere saved the shadow prince from some murderous thugs. The prince awards the boy money and he refuses-"

"Boy?"

"...in a desperate attempt to thank the boy, the prince asks what the boy wants in return for payment, and the boy answers, 'My wish is to stay by your side and serve you-'"

"Whoa,wait!" She hissed. "What kind of stupid story is that?"

"It's a rough draft." He admitted with a small shrug. "Your free to edit into a-"

"Isn't this a little out of character of the Shadow Prince?"

"How so?"

"Showing kindness to others." Her eyes narrowed again.

"Perhaps so, perhaps not. Perhaps the boy teaches the prince to value life."

"What's with..." Haruhi shut her eyes and decided to drop that battle for now. "Why masquerade as a man?" She decided to ask instead.

"I've watched you and your protests, you are hardly ladylike, even for peasant standards. The guards thought you were a boy. Even the peasants watching the spectacle thought they were watching a boy. When I had my servants asking for a loud mouth girl I was getting nowhere."

"I have a vagina, isn't that ladylike enough?" Kyoya went quiet as he put that to thought. Yes, it was strange to think of it any other way. But this was also a strange and mind blowing question for these western times, so Kyoya decided to pocket that question to ponder later.

"A boy who saved my life will get far more benefits than a mere girl."

"How so? Is your life worth less if saved by a girl?" The girl looked honestly confused, as if she had no idea what kind of culture she has been living around her entire life. The Shadow Prince was starting to feel a royal headache coming.

"What matters is we know something they don't. It could be an important plot device later." The girl finally seemed satisfied with that answer and got off of him. He accepted the hand she offered to help him up and both took a moment to brush themselves off.

_What was going on?_ Haruhi asked herself. _This is nothing like I was planning._

Haruhi hated rich people, but she needed this guy.

_Could it be?_ He thought. _This is better than I expected._

"Please excuse me." Haruhi sighed. "Who is the name of the Ootori Prince I am serving? I'm sorry to say I only know your nickname."

"Very few people do." He admitted. "Kyoya. Now, lets get out of here and plan our attack."

"Attack?"

"Against the Ootori family. That is why you are here, yes?" It was going nothing like she was planning, it was better. Grander than she could dream.

"Uh... yes. Yes!"

She needed him in more ways then one.

As her to him.

* * *

I do not kid when I say I am a horrible updater. Writing doesn't flow to me like my friend STWW. I have the plot, the situations, the feelings... but finding the words to describe it properly... I cannot begin to describe how much easier it is to draw than to write what I wish to show you people. Or else, hey, I would be a better writer.

I don't think I need to explain why it's so hard to write a forward thinking mind like Haruhi in olde parodist Europe. I hope the background I made on her keeps her recognizably IC if a bit more aggressive concerning the situation. I had to make sure I could get her involved with the rest of the loser cast as much as possible whilst still being Haruhi in a not so friendly Haruhi time.


End file.
